Paris attacks – and the coming war

The last weekend Paris terror attack is closer home Nigeria than we might think, and could prove the game changer in the global war against terrorism. It is significant that the attacks followed the believed termination of terrorist Jihadi John said to have been killed by a drone strike. U.S. President Barak Obama seemingly celebrated […]

The last weekend Paris terror attack is closer home Nigeria than we might think, and could prove the game changer in the global war against terrorism. It is significant that the attacks followed the believed termination of terrorist Jihadi John said to have been killed by a drone strike. U.S. President Barak Obama seemingly celebrated the hit, announcing gleefully that ISIS had been “contained”. The Paris attacks were like a reply to the supposed killing of Jihadi John, and made pale the picture America has of its victory in the war on terror, more so that French Premier Francois Hollande not only swooped on terror cells in France, but also went on to bomb several locations in Raqqah, the supposed capital of the so called ISIS capital. Hollande has declared that France is at war. The grave implications of this declaration is that NATO is at war. France being a member nation entails that other member nations come to its defense. We are likely going to see a French led coalition against ISIS, if there is no meeting of European minds behind Russia’s Vladimir Putin who had gone it alone weeks ago, albeit to help prop up President Assad of Syria.
France has global sympathy more because of the innocent lives cut down. Ironically, the suspected terrorists who carried out the attacks were youth, mostly below 30 years of age, and sadly selected locations where mainly youth were gathered – the football stadium, the two cafes where only defenseless upwardly and actively mobile youth, full of life, were murdered. But the terror objective was fully achieved. The essence of freedom is to celebrate life, and the aim of terrorists is to strike at this core value – freedom. It was attained in such tragic happenstance. In six coordinated assaults the lives of at least 153 innocent and unsuspecting victims were taken. Much as I am abhorrent of terror being senseless, I am equally as economical with expression of my sympathies as the French were over Nigeria’s travails all these years. I am able to pray for Paris and France, but I am unable to blur my social media profile pictures with the French flag colors. In more ways than one, particularly the Chibok girls, I had hoped that France as much as nudged us to declare a war. Bitter truth.
It is clear that the world is not reacting rightly to an obvious direction in the strategies of the terrorists. Since 2008 when coordinated attacks by a small group of terrorists killed more than 175 people, it had become clear that militants would deploy this strategy to maximum effect. As is typical, jihadists in Nairobi Kenya, copied this technic to attack the Mall where 67 people were killed. This is even as terrorists have perfected deployment of suicide bombers sending not just one but two or three at times. There is indeed urgency for the world to this tactical development which portends more smaller clandestine terror attacks in cities globally in the coming days. As such attacks are a response to being overpowered by organized military might of States, Nigeria, currently subduing Boko Haram must brace itself for the expected shift in the strategies of the insurgents. The battle must not be left to the armed forces alone. Immigration, customs, civil defense, the Federal Road Safety Corps must all effectively play their roles. In spite of our porous borders, immigration needs update its strategies in profiling aliens within the country and ensuring that suspicious ones are subjected to necessary scrutiny. Customs must go the extra distance to checkmate smugglers of arms and explosives, and Government must review the beneficiaries of bogus waivers of the past. The Police need wake up to its covert duties against criminal activity, there must be zero tolerance of small crimes, including traffic offenses. Indeed a vehicle without valid documents must be apprehended and considered as a potential terror logistic.
Even for America, there has not emerged any credible posture on how to approach the growing global terrorism. President Barak Obama is blamed by Republicans for pulling American boots out of Iraq too hastily, paving way for ISIS, whereas he part won the election based on his promise to bring the boys home. The world is however a mess because of America’s meddling in the affairs of particularly Arab countries. With hindsight as benefit, Libya was better with Gaddafi in charge, just as Iraq was better with Saddam Hussein’s iron fist. Of course the promotion of dissidence and rebellion against President Assad of Syria paved way for ISIS to take up territory and to indeed exist as a country. Evidently this informed Hollande’s declaration that France is now at war with a known nation.
The French response has been swift, indicating that terrorists are well anticipated. Nigeria needs learn this lesson. There was no offer to negotiate. French security took on the terrorists believing as it eventually turned out that they were on a suicide mission. What we have not been permitted to know is the postmortem that should establish where there was a security lapse, in answer to the question of how the insurgents coordinated their logistics away from supposedly efficient security radar. Should the attacks have been anticipated particularly following the announced certain targeting of Jihadi John? Could they have been preempted?